Brooklyn, NY Cost of Living (2026)

Brooklyn has a cost of living index of 185, lower than Manhattan but still among the most expensive places to live in the United States. The housing index is 320. Median rents for a one-bedroom apartment range from roughly $2,500 in neighborhoods farther from subway lines to $3,500 or more in areas like Park Slope, Williamsburg, and DUMBO. The median household income in Brooklyn is around $65,000, which creates a significant mismatch between typical earnings and what housing actually costs.

A $100,000 salary in an average-cost US city is equivalent to about $54,000 worth of purchasing power in Brooklyn. For households with incomes near the $65,000 median, that gap is felt sharply in day-to-day budgeting. Many residents share apartments with roommates well into their 30s, not as a preference but as a financial necessity.

Grocery prices in Brooklyn run 25 to 35% above the national average, though discount chains like Aldi and C-Town exist in many neighborhoods and partially offset that. Transportation costs depend heavily on how you live: residents who rely entirely on the subway pay around $132 per month for an unlimited MetroCard, while those who own a car add parking, insurance, and alternate-side street cleaning to their expense list. Car ownership in dense Brooklyn neighborhoods costs more in time than in many other cities.

Brooklyn also sits within New York's tax structure, meaning residents pay both state income tax and New York City income tax on top of federal taxes. That combined burden can reduce take-home pay by 12 to 15 percentage points relative to someone earning the same gross salary in a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida.